News | Books+Publishing

Upswell acquires Dominic Gordon debut

Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Upswell Publishing has acquired world rights to Excitable Boy: Essays on risk, a debut book of essays by Melbourne writer Dominic Gordon. The publisher said that the book 'tracks the...

Sport and sportspeople in Australian youth literature

Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Former bookseller Georgia Strobel recently undertook research into how sport and sportspeople are represented in Australian children's literature. Here, she shares her findings. Earlier this year I was lucky enough...

Affirm acquires King debut novel

Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Affirm Press has acquired world rights to Birds of a Feather, a debut novel from Rhianna King, via Rochelle Fernandez of Alex Adsett Literary. Described by Fernandez as ‘a gorgeously...

Brown announced as new Magabala CEO

Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Magabala Books has announced that Gumbaynggirr educator, researcher and advocate Lilly Brown will be its next CEO. Brown—who has most recently held an executive director role at youth mental health...

Federal judge blocks Texas book rating law

Wednesday, 20 September 2023
In the US, a federal judge has officially blocked Texas’s controversial book rating law, HB 900, from taking effect, reports Publishers Weekly. The 59-page opinion and order is a victory...

Writing NSW diverse writers mentorship 2023 recipients announced

Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Writing NSW has announced the nine recipients of its 2023 mentoring program for emerging writers from First Nations or culturally diverse backgrounds. This year’s winners are: Celine Eigner Tamara Haque...

Malaviya appointed permanent CEO of PRH

Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Bertelsmann has officially appointed Nihar Malaviya as Penguin Random House (PRH) CEO, reports Publishers Weekly. Malaviya was appointed interim CEO following Markus Dohle’s resignation in December last year. Bertelsmann chair...

Publishers attending Frankfurt

Tuesday, 19 September 2023
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has confirmed the publishers that will appear on the Australian Collective Stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The publishers to appear on the APA's stand...

Wright honoured for Lifetime Achievement in Literature

Monday, 18 September 2023
Alexis Wright has won the Creative Australia Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature, which ‘acknowledges the achievements of eminent literary writers over the age of 60 who have made an...

Ultimo acquires Goode debut novel

Monday, 18 September 2023
Ultimo Press has acquired world rights to Melissa Goode’s debut novel Ordinary Human Love. Ordinary Human Love follows Mardi McKee, prodigal daughter, who returns to her father’s home in Lithgow...

Indigo revenue drops 12% in aftermath of cyberattack

Friday, 15 September 2023
Canadian bookselling chain Indigo Books & Music reported a 12% drop in revenue for the quarter ending 1 July, following a cyberattack on the company’s website in February, reports Publishers...

Ultimo acquires new Snoekstra novel

Friday, 15 September 2023
Ultimo Press has acquired ANZ rights to The Ones We Love by Anna Snoekstra, after rights were pre-empted in the US and the UK by Dutton, a division of Penguin...

IBBY reveals change to Ena Noël Award

Friday, 15 September 2023
The Australian branch of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) has announced a change to its IBBY Ena Noël Award, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the...

ARA Historical Novel Prize longlists announced

Thursday, 14 September 2023
The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) has announced the longlists for the 2023 ARA Historical Novel Prize. Featuring ‘a vast tapestry of settings and eras’, this year’s longlisted titles are:...

Varuna announces 2024 residential fellowships

Thursday, 14 September 2023
Varuna, the National Writers’ House has announced the recipients of the Varuna residential fellowships for 2024, including seven flagship fellowship recipients. The writers and their projects are: Eleanor Dark flagship...

Spotify to offer free audiobook trial to subscribers

Thursday, 14 September 2023
Spotify is planning to offer US subscribers a free audiobook trial in the coming months, reports the Wall Street Journal. According to the report, Spotify is working with large US...

Australian book market overview: 2023 so far

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Ahead of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Books+Publishing’s rights publication, Think Australian, looks at how the local market has fared so far this year. After three consecutive years of growth, the Australian book...

Heath joins A&U

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Sally Heath has joined Allen & Unwin as adult nonfiction publisher. Heath was previously an associate publisher at Thames & Hudson Australia and New Zealand, where she worked on the...

Hawker Brownlow authors move to Amba Press

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Independent Australian educational publisher Amba Press has announced that it will republish a number of Australian authors formerly published by Hawker Brownlow Education (HBE). In an announcement posted to LinkedIn,...

Ultimo acquires Chandran novel

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Ultimo Press has acquired ANZ rights to Safe Haven, the new novel from the winner of the 2023 Miles Franklin award, Shankari Chandran, via Tara Wynne at Curtis Brown Australia....

PRH US to ‘encourage’ employees to use office more frequently

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
In the US, Penguin Random House CEO Nihar Malaviya has written a memo to US staff encouraging them to use the office ‘more frequently’, reports Publishers Weekly. Malaviya wrote that...

Mariner Books acquires ‘The Shortest History of Economics’

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Peter Hubbard at Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins US, has acquired North American rights to The Shortest History of Economics (Andrew Leigh, Black Inc.) at auction. The deal was...

New Amazon guidelines to disclose use of AI

Tuesday, 12 September 2023
Amazon has updated its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) guidelines to require users to acknowledge AI-generated content, reports the Bookseller. The new guidelines distinguish between AI-generated content and AI-assisted content, which...